Victor Osimhen, the Nigerian international and Galatasaray forward, transferred to Serie A giants Napoli from LOSC Lille in 2020 for a reported €70 million, according to Soccernet.ng.
At 26 years old, Osimhen played a pivotal role in Napoli’s historic Scudetto triumph, ending a 33-year title drought. He also secured the top scorer accolade in the 2022/2023 Serie A season.
During his four-year tenure at Napoli, the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup champion netted 76 goals and assisted 18 times across 133 appearances before making a permanent move to Galatasaray this summer.
Recently, an inquiry has been launched into the financial dealings surrounding Osimhen’s transfer from Lille, following the leak of WhatsApp conversations among key individuals involved in the transaction.
The leaked chats reveal that Napoli executives allegedly engaged in false accounting practices to manipulate the reported transfer fee for Osimhen.
Details Behind Osimhen’s Transfer to Napoli
Reports from La Repubblica indicate that Lille initially agreed to sell Osimhen to Napoli for approximately €50 million. However, the final fee was artificially inflated by over €20 million through the inclusion of players-2026-world-cup-qualifiers-october/” title=”10 Star … Likely to Miss October's 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Due to Injury”>additional players with exaggerated valuations.
To balance the inflated figures, the clubs agreed to incorporate several players into the deal, including goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis and three youth prospects from Napoli’s academy.
Lille demanded a valuation of €35 million for Karnezis, then 35 years old, a figure far above his market worth. In a private message dated July 17, 2020, Lille’s president warned Napoli’s negotiator:
“Avoid putting anything in writing. No email trails. Say whatever you want face-to-face,” Pompilio instructed Giuntoli.
“This strategy lets you pay less than other clubs but maintain the necessary nominal value to finalize the deal.
“It’s crucial that no information about the price or terms leaks out, as it would jeopardize the entire arrangement and damage all parties involved.”
Eventually, Karnezis’s valuation was reduced to €15 million, and the three academy players-Cisco Palmieri (€7 million), Luigi Liguori (€4 million), and Claudio Manzi (€4 million)-were included instead of another player, Ounas. Their prices were successively lowered to €10 million, €7 million, and €5 million respectively.
These player valuations were significantly inflated compared to their actual market values; for instance, Karnezis was estimated at just €2.5 million by Transfermarkt at the time.
None of the Napoli academy players involved in the deal ever played for Lille. Liguori later revealed in 2021 that he never even traveled to France. Instead, these players were loaned to lower-division clubs before eventually being released.
Upon discovering these irregularities, Lille’s general manager Julien Mordacq alerted the club’s CEO Marc Ingla, emphasizing the risks associated with the transaction:
“I must warn you about the potential issues with this deal based on what we discussed earlier.
“Any suspicious details could raise questions about the entire agreement involving five players, and we must be prepared to provide clear explanations.”
Following the emergence of this evidence, the Rome Tribunal has called for a trial on charges of false accounting. Prosecutors Lorenzo Del Giudice and Giorgio Ornano have requested that Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis and CEO Andrea Chiavelli face court over alleged financial misconduct between 2019 and 2021.
winter transfer window” width=”750″ height=”500″ />Did Osimhen Know About the Financial Manipulations?
Jean Gerard, Osimhen’s agent at the time, shared insights into the striker’s perspective during the transfer saga.
“My previous agent informed me that Napoli was seriously interested, but I was focused on my father’s health and not the transfer,” Osimhen recounted.
“Gerard invited me to Nice, where I met Luis Campos and Lille President Gerard Lopez. They told me the move to Napoli was set, especially given the pandemic’s impact, but I was unaware of the details.”
Tragically, Osimhen’s father passed away shortly after this meeting.
“After my father’s death, I was upset with both Lille and my agent because I didn’t get to see him one last time,” Osimhen revealed.
“They pressured me to leave for Naples the very next day, leaving no time to grieve.”
“Out of respect for Lille’s president, I traveled to Naples but wasn’t ready to sign anything. I met the coach, who explained the club’s vision, and the next day I met President Aurelio De Laurentiis in Capri.
“However, I couldn’t follow their conversation because they spoke in Italian. When asked if I had seen the contract, I hadn’t received it yet.”
“Back at the hotel, I asked my agent for the contract, but he didn’t have it. Eventually, he showed me a vague document claiming to be an agreement with Napoli, which frustrated me and made me want to return to France.”
“I requested a week off to rest and went to Paris. Upon returning to Lille, I decided to end my relationship with that agent.”
Following this, Osimhen parted ways with Jean Gerard and began working with Italian agent Roberto Calenda. As of December 2024, Osimhen has also ended his partnership with Calenda.
While the legal proceedings against Napoli’s management move forward, it appears Osimhen was largely unaware of the financial irregularities tied to his transfer. This lack of transparency may have influenced his subsequent contract renewals and the drawn-out nature of his eventual departure from the club.
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